Dr Sylvia L.F. Pender BSc (Hons), PhD

Associate Professor in Mucosal Immunology,

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Dr Sylvia L.F. Pender is Associate Professor Reader in Mucosal Immunology, within Medicine at the University of Southampton.

The new way to make a difference

As a mucosal immunologist, her research based on how the mucosal immune and innate responses of the host can make the disease get better. She was one of the first to discover the involvement of matrix metalloproteinase in mucosal tissue inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease. Her current research shows new functions of MMPs and the related proteins which play important roles in anti-microbial infection, metabolic syndrome and aging disease such as osteoporosis.

Dr Pender has played a leading role in the protease field and is author of more than 50 journal articles on this topic. She is onthe editorial board of the World Journal of Gastroenterology and International Scholar Research Network – Inflammation. She is also an EU FP7 grant evaluator.

She is currently the Adjunct Associate Professor at International Medical University in Malaysia. She was a VC award winner in 2010 for promoting internationalization in the University. She is also a Global Partnership Award winner in 2013 for enhancing international research collaboration and partnership in Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Qualifications

BSc.(Hons), Biochemical Sciences, University of Keele 1992PhD, University of London 1996 (with an Overseas Research Scholarship award)

Appointments held

Research Fellow St Bartholomew’s and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of London. 1995

Non-clinical Lecturer, University of Southampton 2000

Senior Lecturer, University of Southampton 2005

Associate Professor (Reader) in Mucosal Immunology, University of Southampton 2009

Adjunct Associate Professor, International Medical University in Malaysia 2015 -2016

Research

Responsibilities

Publications

Teaching

Contact

Research interests

Sylvia’s research interest is based on the excessive production of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) contributes to the pathogenesis of many gut diseases as well as many diseases in other organs (i.e eye, heart, joint, lung, skin). The regulation of these enzymes can be governed by the inappropriate activation of the immune system. When myofibroblasts are stimulated with pro-inflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-1ß, MMP production is increased and mucosal ulceration ensues. Most importantly, the synthetic inhibitors of MMPs can inhibit the T cell-mediated tissue injury.

Current research extends the mechanistic studies of the immuno-regulatory response of tissue remodelling in a variety of disease states and organs, primarily those of the gut and the nose. Two EU FP7 funded collaborative research projects “IBDase” and "IPODD" were awarded to Sylvia’s research group in 2008. The two consortia involves twenty-one European research groups from different disciplines, including genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, mucosal immunology, microbiology, and translational medicine, brought together to address the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases in patients and animal models with a focus on proteases and protease inhibitors.

Studies focus on the preclinical and clinical trials based on the results obtained from IBDase and IPODD. That includes: